GMG - Las Vegas Weekly

March 6, 2014

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 21 of 67

22 LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM MARCH 612, 2014 BIRRIA DE CHIVO BY SAM MORRIS; TORTA DE PUERCO BY CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS
THE CALL OF TEXMEX
I was embarrassed to ask,
but nostalgia was calling,
and its name was Chili's chicken
fajitas.
I was living in Guadalajara,
Mexico, after college, and my
Mexican girlfriend and I had gone
to the movies and emerged ready
for dinner. There was a Chili's on
the ground loor of the multiplex,
and although I embraced real
Mexican food—tongue tacos from
a local puesto, the city's signature
torta ahogada—the guilty pleasure
of franchise fajitas
beckoned.
One of the irst
Chili's in my hometown
of Baltimore opened
mere blocks from my
childhood home, and
my brother and I loved
the endless free soda reills and
the chicken fajitas. In my teens,
friends and I would hit Chili's be-
fore heading to the movies.
So, I mustered the courage and
meekly asked my girlfriend if we
could go to Chili's for dinner. "Of
course," she responded, indicating
not a shred of o ense at my desire
to eat this Americanized version
of her country's cuisine. "It's not
Mexican food, it's Tex-Mex," she
declared. "They're entirely di er-
ent." –Tovin Lapan
THE PERFECT BREAKFAST
All breakfast burritos are equal,
but some breakfast burritos are
more equal than others. George
Orwell never ate at Fausto's, but
I've been to the Henderson taco
shop enough to cover his share
and then some. I mostly swing by
on lazy Sundays, for the can't-get-
it-anywhere-else (that I know of)
omelet burrito—diced ham, melted
cheddar and tangy pico de gallo
wrapped within a layer of egg
cocooned inside a lour tortilla.
Far from the jumble of your
average breakfast wrap, this
thing's consistent bite-
to-bite. Pro tip: Splurge
for an 85-cent side of
sour cream, and dab
it as you go.
–Spencer Patterson
GOING LOCO
Taco Bell's Doritos
Locos taco is the dish that has cre-
ated 15,000 jobs since its inception
… at least according to Taco Bell,
and I am proud to be a job creator,
even if it is for a soulless corporate
entity. If you're going to sell your
soul, go down the Cool Ranch
path. And if you're concerned with
the fact that this taco meat might
be only 88 percent beef, don't for-
get that it's 100 percent delicious!
–Jim Begley
Meaty dishes are the specialty at the long-popular, family-friendly Lindo,
satisfying stuff like sticky-sweet carnitas a la Coca-Cola and carne a la
Tampiqueña, steak covered with green chilies. Switch it up and go for
the goat. Birria de chivo is a big bowl of rich red broth, slightly sour and
utterly herbaceous, loaded with chunks of juicy goat meat cooked forever
in beer, chilies and spices. If you like, construct tacos with warm corn tor-
tillas, cilantro, onion and lime, or just attack spoon-style. This is comfort
food at its best, with a rightly funky edge. $18.95. 2655 E. Desert Inn Road,
735-6828. –BR
Desnudo Tacos might be operated by a pair of affable gringos, but they're
gringos who assemble an outstanding take on a traditional Mexican sand-
wich. The torta de puerco is a symphony of swine, layering pork belly carni-
tas and lime-braised pork shoulder on a crispy roll with quesadilla cheese,
house-made pickled vegetables and lettuce slaw. Putting pig on a pedestal:
just the way it should be. $7. 3240 S. Arville St., 982-6435. –Jim Begley
Defending our guilty pleasures
—the guilty pleasure
Chili's in my hometown
my brother and I loved
the endless free soda reills and
Far from the jumble of your
average breakfast wrap, this
thing's consistent bite-
to-bite. Pro tip: Splurge
for an 85-cent side of
sour cream, and dab
it as you go.
–Spencer Patterson
GOING LOCO
> THE FAJITA DILEMMA
So gringo, yet so good.
OUTLINED_18-25_Feature_Mexican_Food_20140306_ML.indd 22 3/5/14 4:23 PM